50-50 Spritz

Last month, FOX News Magazine asked us to contribute an original spritz recipe. If you’re unfamiliar with spritzes (or spritzers, should you prefer), the general profile is a light, low-alcohol hot weather alternative to something like beer. Currently, the Aperol Spritz rules the category. Our take came about as the result of a long-seated desire to play with cream soda in a cocktail. Don’t ask us; we just get ideas. Cream sodas can be all over the place profile wise; some of the ones we auditioned were almost cotton candy like in flavor while others boasted strong vanilla characters. We prefer the latter. One sip of a super vanilla-y soda and it’s hard for thoughts not to jump to orange 50-50 bars. The rest was simply a matter of trial and error.

One error we made was trying to lighten up the affair or lower the alcohol content. Cutting back the orange liquor or the cream soda in favor of a higher proportion of sparkling just didn’t work. Sure the resulting drinks were mathematically more spritz-like, but they had lost heir identity. Either the drink was going to taste like a 50-50 bar or it wasn’t. If we wanted sweet, rich, creamy orange goodness, we were going to have to kiss the high-alcohol, high-sugar recipe on the lips. Plus, it’s never bad for us to have another orange liqueur centric drink.

Don’t expect the 50-50 Spritz to help you beat the heat, but it is a delectably sweet way to get a buzz on while recapturing a bit of childhood fun.